861.00/5699: Telegram
The Consul at Vladivostok (Macgowan) to the Secretary of State
[Received 8:50 p.m.]
602. Gaida wounded, surrendered 5:30 morning with about dozen Czecho-Slovak officers of his staff and, I am informed, have been handed over to General Čeček.96 I am informed Gaida must be deported within three days and that Rozanoff demands trial other Czecho-Slovak officers as deserters. Five torpedo-boat destroyers from the bay gathered together field and machine guns, from commanding heights bombarded railway station greater part night. Rozanoff’s forces occupied part of railway station at the beginning of the fighting and were able to crowd Gaida’s forces and shoot at close range. At dawn about 250 Gaida men ran from station with hands up and were immediately lined up for execution before fortress headquarters opposite station. They were, however, carried into railway yard and rifle shots indicated their end and Rozanoff’s order, dated yesterday, directed immediate execution, without trial, of all taken in arms and field, courts-martial of ringleaders and shots from railway yard during the forenoon indicated order was being obeyed. Other casualties unknown. American Red Cross had 41 wounded at noon. Only known American casualty was sailor wounded aboard deck New Orleans by stray bullet. British authorities did not confirm the report two British officers killed or wounded in Red Cross work. Rozanoff’s machine-gun firing, against the protest of British Consul, greater part of the night from roof British Consulate, which commands station, attracted Gaida and fire [was returned?] but nobody hurt and town major, Ivan Johnson, American major, finally secured its removal. Johnson four times passed firing line into railway premises during the night and safely removed number noncombatants including General, Madame and Miss Romanoffsky who were in their train near the station. From the best available information Gaida and forces never exceeded [Page 548] 1,400 and about a thousand escaped in the dark. Included were two companies deserting from Rozanoff’s according to the best information and several hundred workmen tried to join Gaida probably majority being arrested by widespread picket lines. Gaida seemed dazed and loudly blamed Allies for his fiasco though he was urged to leave Russia.
Doctor Geiman and Captain Murmyc, members of government proclaimed in Gaida’s train, visited acting British High Commissioner Lampson yesterday to pay respects but Lampson refused to see them and probably this discouraged them, no efforts being made to visit any American official, as far as I am informed. Present whereabouts of members of the defeated government unknown. No Czechs joined Gaida here. Besides Tomsk Gaida sent for steamship Pechenge and searches are now being made aboard them. Rozanoff’s view of Gaida’s [apparent omission] seems to have changed after 2:15 this morning when he wrote Čeček requesting disarmament and surrender to him for his disposition of Gaida and Czecho-Slovak staff who had remained with him after his departure from the front. Rozanoff claimed Allied commanders conference yesterday decided that they were not Czecho-Slovak citizens. No such decision was made but acting Czecho-Slovak Commissioner Broz read memorandum reciting well-known facts that Gaida and these officers are Czecho-Slovak citizens enrolled in Czecho-Slovak reserve and received permission to serve in Kolchak’s army and never have been dismissed therefrom. Repeated to Morris, Harris, Stevens.
- Gen. Stanislav Čeček, commanding Czechoslovak troops in Vladivostok.↩